August 31, 2004: Venus and Saturn 2 degrees apart near the constellation Gemini.

Jack Horkheimer
Star Gazer

8/23/2004 thru 8/29/2004

"The 2nd And the 6th Planet Have
A Super Close Meeting On
August 31st And September 1st"

Horkheimer: On August 31st and September 1st planet #2 will have a super close meeting with planet #6. Back on August 1st you could see them among the brightest stars of winter. 8,000 mile wide Venus and 75,000 mile wide Saturn. But they were very far apart, 25 degrees. A week later they were only 20 degrees apart and on August 15th, 15 degrees apart. Last Sunday they were only 9 degrees apart but ta da! next Tuesday and Wednesday they will be a mere 2 degrees apart which is super close. But even though they'll look close in fact Venus will be 76 million miles away while Saturn will be a whopping 905 million miles away. What a way to end August and begin September. Keep Looking Up!

Hebrew Name: Te'omim meaning "twins" as in being coupled together, not specifically as in being birthed together.* The meaning also carries with it a picture of two wholes combined into one.

*The Hebrew word used for twins has its root in the way the boards of the tabernacle were put together. They were "coupled" together. See Shemot (Exodus) 26:24.

Exodus 26:23,24: And two boards shalt thou make for the corners of the tabernacle in the two sides.
And they shall be coupled together beneath, and they shall be coupled together above the head of it unto one ring: thus shall it be for them both; they shall be for the two corners.

Linked to the tribe of: Benyamin (Benjamin)

Benyamin was the youngest of Y'acov's (Jacob's) 12 sons and the second son of Rachel. Benyamin's older full brother was Yosef (Joseph).

Benyamin is linked to the stars making up Gemini (Twins) because of the many dual themes associated with his life. For example in Ya'acov's blessing, Benyamin is linked to a ravenous wolf yet also a peacemaker and provider.

Theme(s): Sorrow and Strength; Opposing and Protecting

Rachel died giving birth to Benyamin. But just before she died, she named her son Benoni meaning "son of my sorrow." Ya'acov later changed the name to Benyamin which means "son of the right hand." The rabbis interpreted this as a character portrait of duality, applying it to the character of the promised Mashiach, one who would be acquainted with sorrow, hold in his hand judgment, yet have strength and act as a shield to his people (Isa 53).

Benyamin's dual themes of sorrow and strength, opposing and protecting can be seen in the story of his reconciliation with his full brother Yosef (Joseph). This happened in Egypt many years after Yosef had been sold into slavery by his older half brothers (Bereshith/Genesis 37). The Hebrew Bible says literally that Yosef saw his younger brother Benyamin and wept on his "necks" (Bereshith 46.29). This Hebrew nuance was understood as a prophecy of two Jewish Temples that were built and destroyed on Benyamin's territory. Most of Y'rushalayim (Jerusalem) is on Y'hudah's (Judah's) territory except for the land where the Temple compound sits; that belongs to Benyamin because he was not in support of selling Yosef to the Ishmalite merchants on their way to Egypt. To understand this you must know the banner of Benyamin was a wolf but in Hebrew, the ancient scribes spelled "wolf" defectively and taught that like a wolf, the enemies of Benyamin and his brothers would continuously seek out the Jews as a lamb, to devour it. A rabbinic story developed along this line of things...a story that Y'shua HaMashiach (Jesus the Messiah) redefined (c.f. Yochanan/John 10:7ff):

R. Judah the Levite, the son of R. Shalom, said: They said to Moses: "To what are we compared? To a lamb which a wolf comes to devour, and after which the shepherd pursues, in order to save it from the wolf. Meanwhile, the lamb is torn by the wolf" (Exodus Rabbah 5:21).

But this would cease in the millennium hence the prophetic words, "The wolf will live with the lamb..." and "The wolf and the lamb will feed together..." (Yeshayahu/Isaiah 11:6,65:25). In the millennium when Mashiach is King, not only will Israel's brothers be in unity but also Israel's enemy (the "wolf") will be annulled.

(Signs in the Heavens: A Jewish Messianic Perspective of the Last Days & Coming Millennium, Avi Ben Mordechai)

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The Sign Gemini (The Twins) Messiah's reign as Prince of Peace

32. Gemini (the Twins)

All the pictures of this sign are confused. The Greeks
claimed to have invented them, and they called them Apollo and Hercules. The Latins called
them Castor and Pollux, and the name of a vessel in which Paul sailed is so called in Acts
28:11.

The name in the ancient Denderah Zodiac is Clusus,
or Claustrum Hor, which means the place of Him who cometh. It is represented
by two human figures walking, or coming. The second appears to be a woman. The other
appears to be a man. It is a tailed figure, the tail signifying He cometh.

The old Coptic name was Pi-Mahi, the united, as in
brotherhood. Not necessarily united by being born at the same time, but united in
one fellowship or brotherhood. The Hebrew name is Thaumim, which means united.
The root is used in Exodus 26:24 "They (the two boards) shall be coupled together
beneath." In the margin we read, "Heb. twinned" (RV double). The
Arabic Al Tauman means the same.

We need not trouble ourselves with the Grecian myths, even
though we can see through them the original and ancient truth. The two were both heroes of
peculiar and extraordinary birth--sons of Jupiter. They were supposed to appear at the
head of armies; and as they had cleared the seas of pirates, they were looked upon as the
patron saints of navigation. (Hence the name of the ship in Acts 28:11). They were held in
high esteem both by Greeks and Romans; and the common practice of taking oaths and of
swearing by their names has descended even to our own day in the still surviving vulgar
habit of swearing "By Gemini!"

The more ancient star-names help us to see through all
these and many other myths, and to discern Him of whom they testify; even Him in His
twofold nature--God and Man--and His twofold work of suffering and glory, and His twofold
coming in humiliation and in triumph.

There are 85 stars in the sign: two of the 2nd magnitude,
four of the 3rd, six of the 4th, etc.

The name of a (in the head of one) is called Apollo,
which means ruler, or judge; while b (in the head of the other) is
called Hercules, who cometh to labour, or suffer. Another star, g (in
his left foot), is called Al Henah, which means hurt, wounded, or afflicted.
Can we have a doubt as to what is the meaning of this double presentation? In Ophiuchus
we have the two in one person: the crushed enemy, and the wounded heel. But here the two
great primeval truths are presented in two persons; for the two natures were one Person,
"God and man in one Christ." As man, suffering for our redemption; as God,
glorified for our complete salvation and final triumph. A star, e (in the centre of
his body), is called Waset, which means set, and tells of Him who "set
His face like a flint" to accomplish this mighty Herculean work; and, when the time
was come, "steadfastly set His face to go" to complete it.

He bears in his right hand (in some pictures) a palm
branch. Some pictures show a club; but both the club or bow are in repose! These
united ones are neither in action nor are they preparing for action, but they are at
rest and in peace after victory won. The star e (in the knee of the
other, "Apollo") is called Mebsuta, which means treading under feet.
The names of other stars have come down to us with the same testimony. One is called Propus
(Hebrew), the branch, spreading; another is called Al Giauza (Arabic), the
palm branch; another is named Al Dira (Arabic), the seed, or branch.

The day has here come to fulfil the prophecies concerning
Him who is "the Branch," "the Branch of Jehovah," "the man whose
name is the Branch."

"In that day shall the Branch of
Jehovah be beautiful and glorious;
And the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely
For them that are escaped of Israel."
Isaiah 4:2

"Behold, a king shall reign in
righteousness,
And princes shall rule in judgment;
And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind."
Isaiah 32:1, 2

"Behold, the days come, saith the
LORD,
That I will raise unto David a righteous Branch,
And He shall reign as King and deal wisely,
And shall execute judgment and justice in the land.
In His days Judah shall be saved,
And Israel shall dwell safely:
And this is His name whereby He shall be called,
The LORD is our Righteousness."
Jeremiah 23:5, 6, RV

"Behold, the days come, saith the
LORD,
That I will perform that good word which I have spoken
Concerning the house of Israel and concerning the house of Judah.
In those days, and at that time.
Will I cause a Branch of Righteousness to grow up unto David;
And He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land."
Jeremiah 33:14, 15, RV

This is what we see in this sign--Messiah's peaceful
reign. All is rest and repose. We see "His days," in which "the righteous
shall flourish; and abundance of peace, so long as the moon endureth" (Psa 72).

But, for this blessed time to come, there must be no
enemy! All enemies must be subdued.

Castor and Pollux: Part of Gemini constellation, in ancient times these 2 stars were thought to be guardians of sailors. In Roman mythology, Castor was a horse trainer and his twin brother, Pollux, a boxer. On Paul's final journey to Rome, his ship sailed under the figurehead of Castor & Pollux (Acts 28:11).

(Astronomy and the Bible, Donald DeYoung)

Venus

Hebrew Name: Nogah

Hebrew Meaning: Brightness, Illumination, Splendor.

Hebrew Theme: Trusting in G-d who is the light. The light that illumines our path. Also a picture of HaMashiach who is the bright and morning star.

The planet we call Venus was called Nogah by the ancient Jewish people. Nogah—hgn—means to shine exceedingly bright or to illuminate in grand splendor. The Jewish theme linked to Nogah is continuously trusting G-d to illumine your path. The word is used in the Jewish Scriptures several times, primarily in Messianic context. Examples include the following:

Mishle (Proverbs) 4:18
But the path of the just [is] as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.

Yeshayahu 9:2
The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.

Yeshayahu 60:3
And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.

Yechezki'el (Ezekiel) 10:4
The the glory of the LORD went up from the cherub, [and stood] over the threshold of the house; and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the LORD'S glory.

Revelation 22:16
I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, [and] the bright and morning star.

Nogah was a picture of HaMashiach in His glory and splendor. Nogah was also a portrait of Him as a shining light to Israel and the nations.

It is significant to note that Hasatan (Satan) is able to transform himself into an angel of light (2 Cor 11:14). This supports an expanded understanding to the concept of the prideful false mashiach. He will come in the future looking and acting like the real Mashiach but will be a type of the King of Babylon and many will be fooled by him, hence the Greek term "Antichrist."

This is the basis of "Star of the Morning" from the prophet Yeshayahu. The word "star" is the Hebrew Heilel and means shining one. In context, the prophet directed his words to the King of Babylon and with great artistry used the symbolism of his own pantheon to teach him about pride. The planet Venus will always be a character portrait of HaMashiach but the message of the prophet is, there is one who is able to falsely impersonate HaMashiach and thus deceptively appear on Earth as Venus appears in heaven with its brightness and splendor.

(Signs in the Heavens, Avi Ben Mordechai)

Saturn

Hebrew Name: Shabbatai

Hebrew Meaning: The "Sabbatic" from the Hebrew meaning "to cease."

Hebrew Theme: Cease, rest.

Saturn, with its huge rings, seven of them, was known in Talmudic Hebrew literature as a representation of the Shabbat (Sabbath). It earned this reputation because of its prolonged orbit around the Sun.

The planetary body Saturn, in the Hebrew language called Shabbatai—y)tb#$—comes from the three-letter Hebrew word Shabbat—tb#$. Shabbat, of course, refers to the seventh day of the week in Jewish reckoning, Shabbatai was the seventh planetary body known to the ancient Jews. Seven is a special number of rest and is addressed in Jewish numerology.

In the Tanakh (Bible), the heavenly body Saturn is referred to by the prophet Amos (5:26). Apparently the Babylonians named a god after Saturn and called it Chiun. Because this Babylonian god of stone was embraced by some of the Jews of the day, the One true G-d of their Fathers visited His anger upon them.

In Jewish commentaries, the legendary name given to the antichrist is Armilus.

This Armilus will deceive the whole world into believing he is God and will reign over the whole world. He will come with ten kings and together they will fight over Jerusalem...Armilus will banish Israel 'to the wilderness' and it will be a time of unprecedented distress for Israel; there will be increasing famine, and the Gentiles will expel the Jews from their lands, and they will hide in caves and towers...God will war against the host of Armilus...and there will be a great deliverance for Israel and the kingdom of Heaven will spread over all the earth." (Encyclopedia Judaica)

"Other references further describe Armilus as arising from the Roman empire, having miraculous powers, and being born to a stone statue of a virgin (which is why he is called "the son of stone"). It is also interesting that he makes this statue "the chief of all idolatry" with the result that "all the Gentiles will bow down to her, burn incense and pour out libations to her."

(In Search of Temple Treasures, Randall Price)

Later, some rabbis in the middle ages interpreted the position and movement of both planetary bodies Shabbatai and Tzedeq (Jupiter) as a sign of imminent Messianic redemption.

(Signs in the Heavens, Avi Ben Mordechai)

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Saturn - The rings are made up of billions of small satellites of Saturn, each in a separate orbit. Their size ranges from dust to gravel to the occasional Volkswagen-sized particle.

(Your Guide to the Sky, Rick Shaffer)

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Saturn, the second largest planet, is best known for its halo of rings...There are actually hundreds of narrow individual rings, perhaps kept in place by small "shepherd moons" between them.

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